Gem setting



E. A. KIRCHNER GEM SETTING Filed March 5, 1924 Ema/0v 50] at Afif/Maer i5 jzirfllmy a w M Patented Dec. 29, 1925.

' ERNST A. KIROHNER, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

GEM SETTING.

Application filed March 5, 1924. Serial No. 697,092.

[ all "LP/2022i. it may concern:

Be it known that: i, ERNST A. KIRCHNER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gem Settings; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to settings for precious stones and the like, and has for its object to improve the same in the several particulars hereinafter noted.

Certain ring settings and the like are now furnished jewelers by the manufacturers with a top plate having a relatively small central opening. In mounting a gem in such a setting, a jeweler must form in the top plate a depressed gem seat surrounding the central opening, and it is usually necessary to increase the size of said central opening to permit a gem to project therein. This gem seat must be very accurately made to receive the gem to be mounted therein, and after said seat is formed, portions of the metal in the top plate is swaged radially inward to form beads that extend over the gem seat and engage the gem therein to hold the same in its seat.

In doing this swaging, beads are very often broken, thus necessitating the soldering of the same, which is not only ditiicult to do but is often detrimental to the gem being set, and the danger of breakage is very great. Furthermore, the beads formed by swaging, while not actually broken during the process, are very often so weakened that they are thereafter very easily broken and do not securely ,hold the gem, with the result that the same must be reset or in some instances is lost. It is also very difficult to work up suflicient metal to produce the beads.

Very few jewelers are competent gemsetters and it is usually left to expert gemsetters, which necessitates the sending of a gem by mail or messenger, and with an expensive gem, the owner does not like to have the same get out of his possession or at least out of the hands of his jeweler. Jewelers very often lose sales by not being able to setgems.

The object of my invention is to overcome the above difticulties by providing a setting on which the average jeweler can very quickly and securely mount a gem without any danger of breaking the same.

To the above end, generally stated, the invention consists of the novel devices and con'ibinations of devices hereinafter described and defined in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings, which itlustrate the invention, like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. l is a fragmentary perspective View showing a ring setting as received from a manufacturer;

Fig. 2 is a view corresponding to Fig. 1, but showing one of the first steps in the invention, in which a plurality of circumferentially spaced holes are formed in the top plate of the setting;

Fig. is a view in section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, and showing a further step in the invention in which a bevelled polygonal gem seat has been formed in the gem setting, and the central opening in the top plate enlarged to a polygonal opening;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the ring and setting and illustrating a further step of the invention in which upright pins have been inserted into the holes and rigidly secured by soldering or otherwise; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detail view showing a gem mounted in the completed ring.

The numeral 7 indicates a ring setting with a flat top plate 8 in which is formed a central opening 9. This ring and setting are, as shown in Fig. 1, in the form in which they are received by a jeweler from the manufacturer.

The first step in my improved process is to drill a plurality of bores or holes 10 in the top plate 8. A further step is to form a depressed bevelled polygonal gem seat 11 in the top plate 8 to receive a gem A and to enlarge the hole 9 to polygonal form, as indicated at 12 to permit said gem to project therein.

A still further step is to insert pins 153 into the holes 10 and rigidly secure the same by solder or otherwise. It will be noted that the pins 13 are in upright position. project above the seat 11, and are located at the angles thereof. After the gem A. is placed in its seat- 11, the pins 13 are bent radially over the seat 11 and onto the gem A, as indicated in Fig. 5, to hold the same in position. This bending of the p very easily accomplished Without danger of breaking the same, and preferably the pins are made from a relatively soft metal in respect to the metal from which the top plate 8 is made so that they will not break in bending.

While in the drawing the gem seat 'is shown of polygonal form, it is of course understood that the same may take various ditferent forms, depending on the gem to be set.

From the above description, it is evident that a gem may be very easily, quickly and securely set Wthout danger of breaking or 15 otherwise damaging the same or in breaking the pins that hold the gem, and without the assistance of an expert.

The above described invention has, in actual practice, proven highly efiicient for the purposes had in vieW.

What I claim is:

A gem setting comprising a top plate With a gem seat, a plurality of laterally spaced holes in the top plate located inward of the perimeter thereof, and pins secured in said holes and adapted to be bent inwardly over the gem seat to hold a gem mounted thereon inward of said pins.

In testimony whereof I attix my signature.

ERNST A. KIRCHNER. 

